Unwritten
by UndercoverGenius
Summary: Soulmate AU Everyone in Runeterra gets a tattoo that has the first words they hear from their soulmate. It appears magically on their wrist around puberty. Well, everyone but Draven. He visits Demacia on a diplomatic mission with his brother and his world gets turned upside down. Rating subject to be swapped to M in later chapters.
1. Welcome

When the people of Runeterra hit puberty a peculiar thing happens. A tattoo will appear on their wrists with the first words you hear your soul mate say on them. It was rather convenient and exciting. People would still date of course before finding their soul mate, but others would rush to scour the lands to hear those fated words come from someone's mouth.

Draven had waited excitedly for his tattoo as a young boy. He was hoping something cool would appear, something badass. He wanted his soulmate to be just as amazing as he was. Darius got his first, of course since he's older, but had refused to show it to Draven. He even began wearing long sleeved shirts to cover it up. Draven didn't press too hard about it; it must have been a pretty embarrassing one for him not to want to talk about it.

When Draven turned 14 and his didn't appear like his brother's he was slightly worried. He pestered Darius about it for weeks and Darius would only tell him to focus on his training, he was just a late bloomer.

The years went on and the tattoo never appeared. What did it mean? Did it mean he had no soul mate? Around when he was 20 he had given up hope on it ever appearing. He became Noxus's executioner and became as famous as he'd ever want. He had women crawling all over him anyway, he didn't need a soulmate. Well that's what he told himself. He couldn't stop the pangs of jealousy when he'd see the tattoos on the wrists of the women he was sleeping with.

Draven was 27 when Darius told them they were going on a diplomatic mission to Demacia with Swain. "Why are you bringing me on a Diplomatic mission. I'm awesome and all but they probably don't want to talk to me I've executed like a billion Demacians." Draven asked as they were packing up to leave.

"We're at peace with them now. That means we need to discuss prisoner trades. You're in charge of the prisoners." Darius explained to him.

"Yeah well I coulda just given you a list."

"Swain wanted you there."

"Yeah yeah whatever let's just go."

The three men ride on horseback to Demacia. Draven hated travelling with these two. They never talked, and when they did it was all military jumbo. Besides the fame and fortune, sometimes Draven missed when they were street rats.

They arrived in Demacia after 4 days of travelling. As they approached the gates they could see a man waiting for them, recognizable as Garen Crownguard. "Small welcoming Committee." Draven comments.

"They have archers watching us from the walls." Darius comments.

Draven examines the Demacian soldier as the approached. "Could you take him if things got messy?"

"Hard to say, I never had the luxury of crossing blades with him during the war." Darius comments. "You and I could definitely handle him together. It'd be the rest of the city we'd have to worry about."

"This is a diplomatic mission, boys." Swain interrupts. "We can worry about bloodshed another time."

They approached the gate. "Demacia welcomes you." Garen states but his face didn't look very welcoming. Draven notices that Darius has become very tense. His horse noticed too and began shifting, obviously agitated from the sudden tension of his rider. "Under orders, no harm shall come to you within our walls as long as no harm comes to our citizens."

"We understand your terms." Swain says slowly dismounting from his horse. A stable boy runs swiftly from behind Garen to grab the horse for him. "I do believe we have not met Demacian. I am Grand General Swain. The two accompanying me are the Hand of Noxus, Darius, and the Executioner, Draven." At that both Darius and Draven dismount as well.

"You did not mention bringing two others with you."

"They will be serving as both my bodyguards and fellow ambassadors for Noxus. May we enter now? We are tired from our journey."

Garen nods slowly and begins their walk through Demacian. The city was practically glowing in the afternoon light; it was beginning to hurt Draven's eyes. The public stared at them as they walked by. "We're already famous here too Darius!"

Garen scoffs. "Infamous is a better word."

"After a few days I'm sure your public will adore me too."

Draven keeps attempting to make small talk between the 4 men, but it was like talking to a brick wall. Not that Draven really minded, he did like talking about himself after all, but it was still odd. Usually by now Darius would at least tell him to shut his yap.

They arrive at the inner parts of the city, just outside the castle, at a very fancy inn. "Guards will be stationed outside your door. Do not attempt to leave the inn without them. I will arrive in the morning to escort you to the meeting." With that Garen took his leave.

The moment he was gone Draven elbows Darius in his side. "What's with you bro. You're quieter than usual. And you were glaring daggers at Garen." Darius then turned his glare to Draven. "Oof sorry I asked."

Draven approaches the guards that were at the inn as Darius and Swain walk by them. "So are we really not allowed to leave? No sight-seeing? Nada?"

They look at each other. "You would require an escort." The taller one states.

"Great! Who's taking me around town then?"

"Sir wouldn't you like to rest after your long journey?" The smaller one asks nervously.

"No way! Once the meetings start this place is going to be boring as hell! Take me to the fun times before I'm bored to death!" He hooks his arm through the taller one's. "Come on Demacian. What's your name? You look like a Jerry. I'm Draven, you've probably heard tales of my performances." Draven drags off the guard he had dubbed Jerry and began his exploration through Demacia.

They wandered for a bit hopping in and out of bars. Draven didn't think they were rowdy enough for his tastes. "Is this really all there is to do in this town Jerry?"

"You turned down every bar in town. We could go see if Miss Buvelle is performing tonight but otherwise that's it."

"Performing? Why didn't we start there!"

Jerry took Draven to the central plaza. A small crowd had gathered around a stage where a blue haired woman was standing, no wait she's floating, gently strumming a string instrument. "There's usually more people here for her free performances, but a lot of Demacians were scared to come out tonight knowing you Noxians were in town." Jerry explained as they drew closer to the stage.

The music was beautiful, and Draven found himself captivated by it. She played multiple songs, each invoking different emotions from Draven. He had no idea music could move you like this. He didn't realize time had passed until the blue haired woman stopped playing and took a bow.

"She's beautiful." Draven states in awe. "Who is she?"

"That is Sona Buvelle. They call her the Maven of the Strings. She's also said to be a powerful mage." Jerry explains to Draven.

Most of the crowd began to disperse and Draven found himself walking over to the stage. Some of the audience members had gathered around Sona and were complimenting her performance. She was smiling and nodding to them, but not saying anything back. Draven approached them, some of the members recognized him and moved away giving him nasty looks but he ignored them.

"Hey that was amazing! I've never heard anything like that! My name is Draven I'm a performer from Noxus. I don't make music though. It'd be awesome if we could work together one day though. I'd really boost your popularity you know, I'm like a superstar."

Sona's expressions changed very rapidly, from slight fear when he approached, to shock, to a look of excitement over the course of Draven's spiel. He awaited a verbal response but when he got nothing he smiled.

"I see you're flabbergasted by my generous offer! Not to worry-"

"She's mute you idiot." One of the audience members who was still lingering around said. "Besides, Miss Sona would never want to perform with a murderer."

Draven's face flushed a bit at his mistake. Sona just smiled politely at him making his heart flutter. She took out a pen and paper from god knows where and began to write. She handed it to him with a smile.

 _Sorry but I already have a lot of offers for my opening act, you'll have to get in line_ read the note with a heart at the bottom.

"First of all missy, Draven is nobody's opening act. We'd be costars of course! And second of all, Draven doesn't wait in lines." Draven says puffing out his chest.

Sona raises an eyebrow, silently laughing at his display. She swiftly writes another note for him. _I have to leave now, but I do hope you'll come to tomorrow's performance. I'll save you a seat so you won't have to wait in any lines!_ She waves to him as she takes her leave.

Draven smiles down at the note before turning to Jerry who had been watching from a distance. "Why didn't you tell me she was mute! I made myself look like an idiot."

"You don't need any help with that. You can't even remember my name."

"Wait you mean it's really not Jerry?"


	2. Denial

(A/N: Hey so I forgot to put a note on the first chapter. This is my first fic in a _very very_ long time (8 years long time, I haven't written since Naruto was becoming a thing wowee) so I'm glad that some of you are enjoying it. I was going to ask how I should do the DariusxGaren scenes. I was undecided if I wanted to do a separate fic, or bonus chapters, but I feel like I really need both of them for the plot so every now and then we're going to get a chapter with Darius's point of view! Like today! Today is Darius day! Have fun and I hope you enjoy.)

 **Darius POV**

Darius hasn't been able to get his head to stop pounding since they arrived in Demacia. His mind kept wandering back to that moment at the gate. Darius had read the words on his wrist over and over since he was a teenager. "Demacia welcomes you." When they appeared on his wrist as a teenager he almost chopped his own hand off in disgust. He covered it up in shame and fear. Many Noxians were imprisoned or executed for treason if their soulmate was discovered to be a Demacian.

Darius had even convinced himself that maybe one day when they conquered Demacia, and he entered the streets his soul mate would be there waiting, a proud Noxian soldier who had helped conquer Demacia for Noxus, and the fated words would come from their mouth. It had surely been a nice dream at least.

He refused to say any word at all when he had been around Garen. He was mostly in denial, hoping that as long as he never spoke around Garen his nightmare wouldn't come true.

He was waiting in their room at the inn, glaring at his wrist full of hatred for the damn tattoo, when Draven arrived back from his adventure around town.

For once Darius was grateful for his brother's presence, it would at least provide a distraction for him. "How was your tour of Demacia." Darius asked, picking up a book and pretending to be reading that instead.

Draven flopped onto his bed with a loud sigh. "Wonderful."

"That is not a word I would use to describe this place."

"Well the place is pretty lame you're right. But I met a girl…"

"Draven-"

"And she's the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on…"

"Draven- "

"And she plays the most beautiful music…."

"Draven there are so many problems with this newfound crush of yours. Where do I even start?" Darius groaned.

"I know I know. It's nice to think about though. She's perfect, I barely even know her is that weird to say?"

"Yes."

"Less weird than the fact that we listen to creepy tattoos that appear on our wrists?"

"Probably on the same level of weird."

Draven sighed again. "It sucks that fate decided I can't have a soul mate. What did I ever do to you, fate?"

"Maybe it's wrong." Darius said completely serious. That's what he's been hoping for all these years. That fate is wrong, that it made a mistake.

"So what you're saying is I should try to get Sona to fall in love with me anyway despite us not being soulmates?"

"That is not what I said. There are more bad reasons to date a Demacian girl besides you not being soulmates."

"So you're saying is, kidnap her and take her to Noxus?"

"That would cause even more problems Draven. Give up on her, find a strong Noxus girl."

"How come you haven't found your soulmate yet? At least you have a damn tattoo."

Darius felt his blood go cold, remembering that he indeed might have found him. He simply shrugs and avoids eye contact with Draven. "Unlucky I guess."

"Did you get one of those ones where it could literally be anyone like "Hi how are ya?" and so you question everyone who ever says hi to you? Man that would suck."

"No Draven. You know I don't like talking about it."

Draven sighs. "You're so lucky you have one."

"Believe me, it's stupid and you're lucky not to have one."

The following morning Garen arrived to escort the Noxians to the palace where they would be having their meeting. Once again Darius fell silent in the presence of the Demacian, hoping to deny it as long as he could. Draven kept trying to make conversation and Darius ignored him like the previous day. Darius knew that Draven was beginning to get suspicious of his silent treatment, but was thankful he didn't question it as he blabbered on about nonsense.

The palace was quite grand, the Demacian royalty sure did live in luxury. Garen led them to a large meeting room just inside the palace. It was filled with maps and the walls were adorned with weapons of all kinds. The table inside was very large, it could probably seat a dozen Demacians, and at the head sat Prince Jarvan the 4th. To his left was a young blonde girl, unmistakably Luxanna Crownguard. She was a brilliant tactician so it made sense that she would attend the meeting alongside the Prince. To Darius's dismay, Garen took a seat to the right of the prince. The Noxians sat down as well.

"Greetings gentlemen. As you know we are here to discuss the finer details of our peace agreement between Noxus and Demacia." Jarvan said with a charming smile. "I hope that we can come to agreements that will benefit both parties."

"As do I your highness. Let us begin then." Swain said looking a bit impatient.

The meeting began pretty simple; it was mostly territory agreements right then. Jarvan began by asking for a lot of the territories taken in the war back. Many Swain was willing to give up as they were rather useless, but it became increasingly difficult as many of the formerly neutral territories came into play. Jarvan was saying they should either be given to Demacia or be allowed to be neutral, Swain argued it was in the best interest of these territories to stay under Noxian rule.

Darius had done his best to remain silent throughout the meeting, but eventually Swain turned to Darius. "Do you have anything to add as the Hand of Noxus?" He could tell that Swain was not happy by his silence, especially since Lux and Garen had been contributing to the argument to allow the territories to be neutral.

Darius faltered for a moment, knowing that he couldn't avoid it any longer but he still desperately wanted to. However, Draven butted in.

"Noxus has done a lot to improve these territories. We've trained the villagers how to fight and protect them from bandits. Returning them to neutrality would be pretty bad for them they'd lose that protection." Draven replied. Swain seemed both shocked and pleased by Draven's thoughtful input, but was still staring at Darius, awaiting for something from him.

"I agree." Darius states, keeping his eyes on Garen as the words left his mouth. He watches Garen's neutral expression flicker, to something of either of shock or fear, but it lasted only a moment. He chose something simple, hoping that maybe he'd heard it a thousand times before even if it did happen to be on Garen's wrist. Something simple enough that maybe he already found a soulmate. He noticed Swain still expecting more from him. "Allowing them to fall into Demacian hands would also be foolish. The resources provided by the mines and lumber in these areas are far too valuable for us to give up without an exchange." Darius continued, his eyes never leaving Garen, who was staring back solemnly.

Darius and Garen were locked in a staring contest the rest of the meeting. Darius was actually contributing now, realizing it had probably been foolish to try to attempt to wiggle out of fate, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. They had been there for a couple hours before Jarvan cleared his throat.

"I say we take a break we don't seem to be making any headway. Feel free to roam the castle grounds provided you have a guard with you. Convene back here in 45 minutes." Jarvan said as he rose and took his leave.

Darius stood up and hurriedly bolted for the door, eager to get away from Garen. He was avoiding the confrontation waiting to happen.

"You need a guard if you wish to leave this room!" Lux's voice stopped him as his hand touched the handle. Darius sighed, knowing exactly who it was that would be his guard.

"We need to talk." Garen said quietly as he opened the door for Darius to exit through.

"Of course."

Darius followed Garen through the castle halls to a small garden located somewhere in the center. "This area isn't open to the public. We should be safe to talk freely without fear of listeners." Darius was silent and avoiding eye contact with the Demacian. Garen was quiet too for a moment. "Let me see your wrist."

"Excuse me?"

"You obviously knew what was on mine!" Garen's face was red with either anger or embarrassment.

"What I said is common enough! How would I know if it's on your wrist or not?"

"You weren't subtle with your staring when you said it."

"Please. I just hate your guts."

"Let me see your wrist." Garen demanded slowly entering Darius's space. He was staring him down threateningly. Darius wasn't scared as he stared back at the slightly smaller man, but decided it was best not to test things during this fragile peace.

Darius sighed and removed his wrist guards and gloves revealing his wrist to the Demacian. The words "Demacia welcomes you" visible to someone else besides him for the first time in his life.

"That's what I said when you arrived…" Garen was probably going through the same disbelief he had been. "I was hoping it was just a coincidence."

"Please tell me you've already found a soulmate…" Darius asked desperately. Garen shook his head slowly. "This is bad."

"Very."

"I'd be executed if anyone found out."

"I'd be exiled if anyone found out." The men froze as they said the last part in almost unison.

"It has to be wrong. This thing can't be right all the time." Darius said desperately

Garen is quiet before sighing. "My sister told me there's one way to find out."

"What's th-" Before Darius could finish forming his question Garen had pulled Darius in and planted a kiss on his mouth.

Darius was shocked to say the least. He was shocked that Garen would even dare try something so bold, but he was more shocked by how _good_ his lips felt against his. He felt a heat rising in his chest that burned but also felt amazing. They seemed to fit together so well, and all Darius wanted was more before his mind remembered exactly what was happening.

He pulled away first and abruptly, his face turning bright red. "Do you have a death wish?" Darius asked avoiding Garen's eye contact.

"My sister thought she had found her soulmate, they had some pretty common wrist tattoos I guess, but when they kissed she had felt nothing for him. When she found her real soul mate later she said it was the most amazing thing she's ever experienced." Garen explained. "How did you feel?"

"I don't want to answer that." Darius could still feel that warmth in his chest. He felt like he was going to boil over, and the two of them were still so close to eachother all he wanted was to kiss the Demacian again.

Garen laughed lightly. "I guess we're stuck with each other then."

(A/N So I hope you enjoyed the bit of DariusXGaren! We'll be focusing on Draven and Sona for most of the fic and be swapping to Darius POV every now and then. I feel like it turned out a lot better than I thought it would this way and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it!)


	3. Fate

**Draven POV**

Draven watched as his brother was escorted out by Garen. He wasn't an oblivious idiot, he knew that there was tension between the two that could be cut with a knife, but he decided it was best not to pry. He was confident his brother would be just fine on his own. Instead he turned his attention to the little blonde Crownguard he had been left with.

"Hey I wanna go walk around. You gonna babysit me or what?" Draven asked her.

She smiled politely. "Of course!" They exited the meeting hall together. "Anywhere in particular?"

"Yeah actually. There like a Library we could run to really quick before we start back up?"

Lux looked at him surprised. "Library?"

"Yeah like with books. Do Demacians not have those I thought you guys were supposed to be like geniuses?"

"No we have one nearby, I'm just surprised by your interest. You don't seem like… the type to read a lot." Lux was looking at him suspiciously, obviously not trusting his intent.

"Yeah well I'm full of surprises. You gonna show me the way or what?"

There was a small library just outside the castle walls. The librarian seemed delighted to see Lux.

"Miss Crownguard! What a pleasure to see you again! Is there anything I can help you with today?" She asked excitedly as Lux approached the front desk.

"One of our Noxian visitors was looking for some reading material it seems." Lux explained motioning to Draven.

The Librarian eyed him up and down. "Well since you're not Demacian many books will be off limits…"

"Got anything on Sign Language?" Draven asked ignoring the strange look she was giving him.

"Sign Language?"

"Yeah the thing where people use their hands to like say words and stuff. Like a tutorial book basically is what I'm looking for."

"I'll check the back and see what I can find." She hurried off into the back of the library.

Lux was staring at him suspiciously again. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"I don't trust you."

"Well the feeling is mutual kid."

"Why do you need a book on sign language? What are you plotting?"

"I'm not plotting anything! I just thought it'd be kinda useful to know."

"And you only just took an interest in sign language while in Demacia?"

Draven groaned. "Look it's really none of your business." The librarian returned just in time to save Draven from further questioning. She handed him a small book labeled _Beginner's Guide to Sign Language_. "Ah that's perfect! When do I need to have it back by?"

"If you want to buy it you can. No one's checked it out in years."

"Even better." Draven paid for the book and began leafing through it as the two began to exit the library.

Lux tried to continue her questioning but Draven just ignored her as they walked back to the meeting room together.

In the remaining time they had for their break Draven used it to try to learn as many words as he could before they started up again. He was hoping that before the end of the week he'd be able to understand Sona without her having to use the pen and paper.

A few minutes before the meeting started up he heard the shuffling of loud armor and heavy footsteps behind him. He didn't need to look up to recognize his brother.

"You're reading a book? One I didn't force you to read?" Darius asked in shock looking over his brother's shoulder.

"Why is everyone so shocked? Yes, I the amazing Draven, can read books!"

Darius chuckled lightly and sat down beside his brother. Just then Swain and Prince Jarvan arrived as well and took their respective seats and the meeting began again. They were still arguing about territories, which really wasn't Draven's specialty. He'd pipe up every now and then to keep Swain happy, but otherwise he continued to leaf through his book under the table.

Draven did notice that Darius was more actively participating, and had lost that tenseness that he's had for the past 2 days. He wasn't even glaring daggers at Garen anymore, which was strange…

The meeting adjourned in the late afternoon. Jarvan and Swain finally agreed on which territories Noxus will be holding onto. "That should be enough for today. We'll talk prisoner exchanges tomorrow. Garen please escort these men back to their sleeping quarters."

Draven got up and stretched. "Are meetings always this lame?" He asked as they began their walk home.

"It could be worse. Katarina could have come too and been throwing knives whenever she disagreed with something." Darius commented.

Garen laughed, to Draven's surprise he didn't think the Demacian was capable of it. "That sounds like something she'd do."

"You've met her?" Draven asked curiously.

"Only on the battle field. She did enjoy throwing knives. Quite annoying."

Darius laughed as well. They began exchanging war stories about ridiculous fights they've had during the war.

"Your dragon friend was the most shocking. One minute I'm fighting a girl the next minute I'm underneath a dragon twice my size!" Garen laughed loudly at Darius's description of Shyvana.

Draven was more than shocked at how the two were swapping war stories like they were old friends. Draven noticed that Swain was starting to look displeased. They arrived at their inn and Swain interrupted Garen in the midst of one of his tales.

"Thank you for escorting us Crownguard. We will see you in the morning." Swain said staring at Garen coldly.

Garen returned the stare. "It was my pleasure." He said solemnly before taking his leave.

Swain spun around and faced the two of them. "What do you think you're doing?" The brothers were silent. Frankly Draven had seen it coming. "You spent half the meeting being unhelpful, and then you start fraternizing with the enemy? Is this how you choose to represent Noxus?"

"I thought becoming friendly with the Demacians would work to our benefit. If they see us as friends they'll be more likely to give up more in the negotiations, and maybe we could get some information from them." Darius explained.

Swain was silently contemplating. "Alright. That is acceptable then. Do not get attached to them. Even in a time of peace they are a threat to Noxus."

"Yes sir." The brothers replied in unison before they returned to their room.

"Ok now you're going to tell me the truth." Draven asked once they were alone.

"About what?" Darius asked avoiding looking at Draven in the eye, and Draven could tell he was playing dumb.

"This morning you were ready to tear Garen's head off but now you guys are acting like you're bros! What's up with you? You've been weird since we got here actually. And see I can tell you're lying cuz you're bad at lying to me, you always avoid looking me in the eye. Lying to Swain you can do but not me!"

"Keep it down would ya…" Darius growled at him.

"Maybe if you didn't keep secrets from your brother I wouldn't have to shout."

Darius sighed and sat down. He bagan to take off bits of his armor. "You need to not freak out then."

"Freak out about wha-" Draven didn't get to finish asking the question before Darius was holding out his wrist for Draven to see.

"Just read it…"

Draven sat down next to Darius excitedly and looked at his brother's wrist for the first time. "Demacia welcomes you…. That's what Garen said when we-"

"Yep."

"So is he-"

"Yes."

"Oh shit."

"Uh huh."

"Maybe it's wrong! Like you said this thing is dumb right? It can't be right all the time."

"We kissed."

"Oh shit." Draven pauses. "Is he a good kisser at least."

"Very." Darius was blushing a bit. "We will not speak of this to anyone."

"What are you going to do?"

"Try to not let Swain find out, go back to Noxus and pretend like this never happened."

"Wait so you found your soulmate and…That's it? You're not going to do anything about it?" Draven as pretty angry. Darius finally finds the one thing Draven has been wanting his whole life and he's going to throw it away.

"My devotion to Noxus comes first. I cannot let this get in my way." Darius explained. "Alright I told you my secret, tell me what you plan to do with a book that teaches sign language."

"That's not how secrets work, I'm not obligated to tell you mine!"

"Well if you don't I won't let you leave and you'll miss your date with the Demacian girl from yesterday."

"Wait how did you know I was seeing her tonight?"

"You're Draven, what else would you be doing tonight?"

"Point taken." Draven sighed, his brother knew him too well. "Well… She's mute so when we were talking yesterday she had to keep writing things down. I figured if I could learn sign language it'd make it easier for us to talk!"

"Does she even know sign language?"

Draven froze. He didn't think of that. "Well then I can teach her too! Anyway speaking of date, I gotta go meet her!" Draven excitedly left their room waving bye to Darius on the way out.

He went outside and hooked an arm through Jerry's "Come on Jerry, I got a date tonight and you need to escort me!" He declared dragging Jerry from his guard post.

"Could you please stop calling me that?"

They arrived at the place Sona does her performances. The place was empty, but Sona was sitting by herself on the stage. Draven hurriedly ran up to meet her. He was about to say something smooth to her but before he could get the words out she hands him a piece of paper.

 _You're Late!_ It says in large letters. She was pouting as she stared down from the stage at him. He rubs the back of his neck smiling. "Sorry my meeting went late tonight!"

She smiles at him and hands him another note. _You're luck you're cute_

He smiles feeling his face flush a bit. "Did you write all of these before I got here?" She laughs, or what looks like could have been a laugh if she had a voice, before nodding. Then she looks at Jerry and hands him a note.

He stares at it and then looks at her shocked. "Ma'am I'm afraid as his guard I am not allowed to leave him alone with you." She looks annoyed, takes out a pen and quickly scribbles down another note and hands it to him. Jerry looks flustered. "I didn't mean to insult your abilities Ma'am of course I think you can handle yourself! But if something were to happen to you or anyone else Garen would exile me."

"Why don't you just hover nearby?" Draven suggests, he looks at Sona who nods.

"Alright. That would be acceptable." Jerry sighs and walks a short distance away. Sona glares at him and makes a shooing motion with her hands. Jerry continued to back up until he was barely visible, only then did Sona give him a thumbs up to stop moving.

"Alright to make up for me being late I have a little surprise." Draven announces before sitting beside her on the stage. He takes out the sign language book. "So I found this today and I thought that if I learned how to do this it'd be easier for you to say stuff without having to write it down all the time! I learned a few words but like it's kinda hard to remember all of them."

Before Draven had finished talking Sona had begun excitedly making signs with her hands. They went fast and Draven only knew a few of the words to begin with. "Okay I don't actually know how to do it yet but I'm learning!" Draven had never felt so flustered around a girl before.

Sona began to write again and handed him a note. _No one has ever tried to learn sign language for me before!_ It read with a little heart at the bottom.

"Really? It's not too hard watch." Draven then began to sign cheesy pick-up lines to her, because yes that is exactly what he spent his time looking up how to say for her.

Sona looked like she was laughing but, once again, no sound passed her lips. _You're pretty good_ she writes.

"Of course! I am Draven after all! There is nothing I can't learn or do!"

 _Has the magnificent Draven found his soulmate yet?_

Draven faltered as he read the note. "Nope! I don't have one." He says forcing a smile.

 _What do you mean?_

Draven sighed and showed her his wrist. "It never showed up. I gave up a while ago. What about you, find your lucky person yet?"

She's silent for a few seconds before nodding with a big smile on her face. Draven's heart sinks. Of course someone as brilliant as her has found her soul mate already...

Before he can beat himself up for too long she's grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him into a kiss. It felt like explosions were going off inside his head and his chest as their lips met. The kiss was short and sweet, and Draven was sad when Sona pulled away.

"I don't understand… Why do that when you've already found someone?" Draven asks. Sona rolls her eyes and hits him lightly on his shoulder. She rolls up her sleeve and shows him her tattoo. "Hey that was amazing" was written across it, the same words Draven had spoken the previous night. "But you must get that all the time right?" Draven asks still not believing it.

She nods and pulls out her pen and paper again. _You're the only one who's said that who's had nothing on their wrist! Everyone else had words written, but I can't speak and I never will, they couldn't possibly be my soulmate. It's you Draven!_

He read the words over and over again in his head. "You're my soulmate. I have a soulmate."

(A/N: hey thanks for the positive feedback everyone! so I think I'll have one more chapter up by the end of the weekend and then there won't be another update until like Friday! Pretty weird schedule I know, but thanks for reading!)


	4. Make a Deal

Draven arrives back at the inn pretty late. Darius had already gone to sleep by the time Draven tiptoes in. Draven was still giddy with excitement and couldn't sleep and ends up spending most of the night in the lobby reading and practicing his sign language, that way he wouldn't wake up his brother. He eventually does fall asleep at one of the tables drooling all over the book.

Darius finds him in the morning and shakes him awake. "You have 5 minutes to get ready before we head out. Hurry it up."

Draven groans and complies. Garen met them outside and escorted them to their meeting like the previous day. Draven was yawning, still not entirely awake.

"How late were you out last night?" Swain asks with a scornful look. It wasn't unusual for Draven to be out all night at bars when they were on missions.

Draven shrugs. "Late." He could tell Swain wasn't very approving of his answer.

They arrive at the meeting room and Jarvan was already there waiting for them, but surprisingly Lux wasn't there. "Blondie is late? Doesn't seem like her."

"She had some other business to attend to. Besides since we are talking prisoner exchanges I thought it would be best to bring in one of our medics who has spent the most time with them." Jarvan explained.

Almost if on que the doors open behind them and none other than Sona floats in. She did look rather impressive and ethereal as she glides in and takes a seat to Jarvan's left. She sends Draven a small smile when he was looking at her in confusion.

"This is Sona Buvelle. Since she is mute she will write her responses down and I will speak for her. She was assigned with taking care of the injured prisoners after capture and has been looking after them ever since."

Darius looks at Draven with a raised eyebrow, recognizing the name from when Draven had been gushing about her the other day. Draven simply smiles.

"How many Noxian prisoners do you have?" Swain asks.

"Currently 286." Jarvan responds after Sona passes him a note.

"How many have you had executed?"

"41."

"How many high ranking military officials?"

"We have 5 of your military officials. I ask the same questions to you, how many Demacians and how many have been executed?"

"We currently have about 150 prisoners. We've executed around 100." Draven explains.

"Any high ranking officers."

"10 are alive."

"What are their living conditions like?" Garen asks.

Draven falters and looks at Swain, knowing that any high ranking officials have probably been tortured.

"Higher ranking officials have been given to the Du Couteau family for questioning." Swain explains. Garen makes a disgusted face.

"We are willing to make trade negotiations for those remaining Demacians." Jarvan says pulling out a few sheets of paper.

"There is no need for that." Swain replies coldly.

"What do you mean?"

"No trades. Any Noxian weak enough to be captured does not deserve rescue." Swain explains.

"You are refusing to release our men, even for the lives of yours?" Garen asked, all of the Demacians were looking quite shocked. Draven had seen this coming. Anyone who has served in the Noxian military knows that if you are captured you should never even think of returning to Noxus.

"I am sorry Swain but we cannot stand for this. You may not want your men back but we will not allow ours to rot away in Noxus." Jarvan was clearly quite angry by this turn of events.

"They will not rot. Every prisoner is given a chance to fight for their freedom. Isn't that right Draven?"

All eyes were on him now. Normally he wouldn't mind but Sona was staring at him expectantly. "Yes any prisoner who is on death row will be given a chance to fight their way out in one of my shows. If they can make it out alive they can have their freedom." Draven explains.

"How many prisoners have won their freedom?"

"Zero."

"We won't stand for this. Release our men. We were very generous to offer your men in return."

"You are not confident in the abilities of your men to earn their freedom?" Swain asks.

"It is obviously rigged in favor of your executioner." Jarvan says that with a glare targeted to Draven. "Your treatment of our men is barbaric."

"I'm sure we can come to an agreement that could work for both parties. I'd be willing to trade some of those territories for your men."

"You Noxians are sick." Jarvan grumbles rubbing his temples. "Which ones do you want?"

The rest of the negotiation process was very tense. The Demacians were obviously not pleased that they'd have to be giving up some territories just for the safe return of their men. Draven noticed that whenever he tried to make eye contact she'd look away.

He sighed not realizing how many issues being a Noxian would be bring if he wanted to be Sona's soulmate. Darius must have known; it's why he's going to break things off after all.

Things were beginning to get heated at the meeting so Jarvan decided to call for a break. Draven sighed in relief. Darius gave Draven a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a knowing look before exiting the room followed by Garen. Swain and Jarvan left as well leaving him alone with Sona.

 _Sorry that this is difficult_ Draven signed to her when she finally looked at him. She frowned and signed something back but Draven could only catch some of the words. "Sorry you're gonna have to write that one down for me." She rolls her eyes and quickly sends him a note.

 _How could you not care what happens to you men?_

Draven shrugs. "We're all told when we joined the army that if you were taken prisoner you aren't welcome back. Noxus is all about being strong, and if you're captured you're too weak and you're a liability. It's just the way it is."

 _And you accept that?_

"We have to. Look I don't always agree with how Noxus does things but if you don't play by their rules you die. Only the strong survive in Noxus." Draven rubs his temples and sighs. Sona passes him another note after they're sitting in silence for a bit.

 _Why did you become an executioner instead of a soldier like your brother?_

"Well I tried the army life and I hated following other people's orders. Darius and I grew up on the streets so we never had to answer to anybody before. Also it was really hard being in his shadow the whole time. I wanted to make a name for myself ya know, be famous without having to live up to my brother. It's why I turned the executions into performances, no one had done that before so of course it'd be a hit!" Draven waited as she silently stared at him _. I get it if you hate Noxus, or hate me for what I do._ He signs to her.

 _I don't hate you, dummy._ She signs back smiling softly. _You're getting better at signing_

 _That's because I'm amazing_

She silently laughs before signing _Why don't you leave Noxus? Come to Demacia?_

Draven scoffs. "No way! Noxus isn't perfect but neither is Demacia. I wouldn't wanna be stuck around a bunch of stuck up jerks who think their city is perfect. You guys force everyone into the army! At least in Noxus no one forces you into anything."

 _At least we could be happy here._

"Could we? I'd have to leave my brother, my home. We're soulmates but I can't just abandon Darius. I wouldn't even be welcome here."

 _Will you think about it? I don't want you to leave._ Sona's eyes looked teary. _I just found you and you are already leaving in a few days…_

Draven sighs. "I'll figure something out." He says getting up and stretching. "Let's go walk around a little bit before this starts back up."

The two walked around the castle grounds. Draven was telling her funny stories about his childhood, usually embarrassing ones about Darius. He was using this opportunity to practice signing and she was helping him learn new words. They were wandering aimlessly when they bumped into Lux.

"Sona! There you are! Have you seen Garen you guys are on break right?" Lux asked.

"He's babysitting my brother. Aren't you supposed to be doing something else isn't that why you skipped today?"

"Yes and its top secret and it is also why I need to find him. Also Prince Jarvan wants to know if you made copies of…" She pauses as she looks at Draven. "Of that thing he told you to do yesterday."

Sona takes out her pad of paper, but looks around for her pen unable to find it. She sighs and signs to Draven _I dropped my pen. Can you tell Lux they're on his desk?_

"Sure. That last word was desk right?" She nods smiling at him. "Okay she said they're on his desk." Draven says. Lux however is staring at him strangely. "What's wrong blondie?"

"That's why you got the sign language book…"

Draven groans. "Yes I got it so I could talk to a pretty girl. I'm a womanizer this is common knowledge come on keep up blondie."

"Sona would never date the likes of you… unless you're-" Sona presses her fingers to Lux's lips and glares at her, effectively silencing her.

"Alright you're clever for figuring that out blondie. Don't go blabbing about it or else."

Lux scoffs. "Or else what? You're in my city, empty threats don't scare me. If I told Swain you'd be executed! Oh the irony in that. One less Noxian in the world."

Draven stares her down menacingly. "Cuz I know who your precious brother's soul mate is too, and it would probably mean the end of his career if word got around. If you bring me down, he's going down too."

Lux's face went pale. "How could you know who it is? I don't even know… It's not Katarina is it?"

Draven shrugs and walks past her. "You'll figure that one out eventually too. You're smart. Do the smart thing and keep your mouth shut blondie!"

Once they're away from Lux, Sona signs to Draven _Who's Garen's soulmate?_

Draven smirks, _My brother._

Sona looks at him shocked. _Do you think that'll keep Lux quiet? Demacians don't execute people for their soulmates…_

 _No they…._ Draven pauses not knowing how to sign the word before giving up and deciding to speak out loud. "They exile them. Which for Garen would be worse. It'd bring shame to his family after all."

Sona nods. _How long until she pieces it together?_

Draven shrugs. "I'll give her 5 more minutes, and shortly after she'll realize what Garen and Darius spend these break times doing."


	5. Take a Chance

(A/N Hey sorry it's been awhile I've been a bit busy with midterms. My updating schedule for this fic is gonna be pretty chaotic haha. Anyway thanks for sticking with me hope you enjoy!)

Darius POV:

Darius watched his brother exchanging glances with the Demacian mute the whole meeting. It didn't take long for him to realize this is the Demacian that his brother has been smitten the past 2 days over.

When Jarvan called for break he gives his brother a pat on the shoulder. He knew that the sour mood of the meeting was sure to disappoint him. It was best he learnt now anyway that relationships with Demacians just aren't going to work. He heads for the door and Garen meets him there.

"We need to talk." He says quietly.

Darius holds the door open for him "Then lead the way."

They walk in silence until they reach the garden Garen had shown him the previous day. "Tell Swain to take the deal." Garen demands once they arrive.

Darius rolls his eyes. "You Demacians can't seem to get it through your heads. We don't take back prisoners."

"You're going to forfeit the lives of your men so you can get a better deal? That's sick Darius." Normally comments from Demacians about him and his city didn't bother him, but something about the way that Garen said it made his blood boil. Darius shoves Garen into the nearest wall and pins him there.

"Do not claim to know about matters you are clearly ignorant of. Prisoners are men who were too weak to continue fighting and surrendered to you. They're likely to trade secrets for their lives. We don't take them back because it gives the message to our people that it's okay to show weakness. The weak do not survive in Noxus. Every soldier enlisting in the Noxus army knows this." Darius growls at the Demacian. "You Demacians always like to take the moral high ground but at least our soldiers _choose_ to enlist. All Demacian citizens are forced to serve time in the army right? How is that just? You're forcing your people to give up their lives for a fight they might not even believe in!"

Garen's face turns red with anger. "At least they're fighting for just causes! At least we don't sacrifice our men!"

"I care about every soldier out there Garen, but we all put Noxus before ourselves, just as you put Demacia before your life. And your men are fighting for whatever your king says is a just cause! None of them question for themselves what is right and wrong! You all follow him blindly like little sheep. That's the difference between us and you, we can think for ourselves." Darius releases Garen and turns his back to him. He glares down at his wrist where underneath his gloves the tattoo was. "Which is why I'm not falling for this stupid soul mate shit. The fates are wrong, I could never love a Demacian."

They're both quiet for a moment as Darius's words sank in. Darius was waiting for more harsh words to come from Garen and was already coming up with retorts but the insults never came. Instead he feels Garen's hand gently touch his arm nearly making Darius jump. "I'm sorry…" Garen says gently.

"You're what?" Darius turns to him surprised. Garen's blue eyes met his and they made Darius's insides churn. He hated how this man made him feel.

"The way you talked about Demacia it just… I never realized that's how your people viewed us. It made me realize that's how we talk about you Noxians… We just make assumptions without knowing each other. So I was wrong to assume you didn't care about your soldiers."

Darius is quiet while he digests the apology from Garen. He never thought he'd hear someone apologize for their prejudice against his city. "Maybe you're not all sheep." Darius says somewhat begrudgingly.

"Is that your attempt at an apology?" Garen inquires smiling at him.

"You can take it or leave it." Darius snaps at him causing Garen to laugh.

"You weren't serious about not believing in the soulmate thing right?" Garen asks scratching the back of his head.

"Of course I am. Fate wouldn't match me with a Demacian. It can never work obviously. It's wrong and we put too much faith in it."

"I want to try to make it work. I feel like it's right. I wasn't so happy about it either but you keep proving me wrong." Darius hadn't realized how close Garen had gotten while they had been. Their faces were just inches from each other. Darius feels heat rising within him and he tries to suppress it.

"Garen-"

"If you bring up why it can't work because of Noxus or Demacia one more time I'm going to hit you." Garen threatens causing Darius to chuckle. "Stop thinking about it and kiss me."

Darius complies ignoring the voice in the back of his head shouting that it was a bad idea. He didn't want to deny how much he wanted Garen anymore. Their lips meet and they kiss roughly. Before Darius could savor the feeling of their lips against each other a screeching noise makes them pull away.

"GAREN!" The two turn to see none other than Luxanna Crownguard. Her face was contorted in disgust as she glared at the two men. "What do you think you're doing with that Noxian scum?"

Garen's face blushes bright red. "Lux how did you know we were here?"

Lux scoffs. "Draven told me you two were soul mates. If it were true you'd obviously be here, this is where everyone in the kingdom meets to have their affairs."

"Garen you said no one knows about this place…" Darius hisses

"No I said no one comes here. Unless they're having an affair. I left out that last part."

Darius rubs his temple in annoyance. He opens his mouth to insult his idiocy but then thinks better of it and sighs. "You really enjoy making things more difficult don't you…"

Lux approaches them and places her hands on her hips. "Are you an idiot Garen? How can you even entertain the idea of being with a Noxian! They're evil you know that!"

"Lux-"

"If you get caught you'll be exiled! You'd be a nobody!"

"Lux-"

"You're willing to throw your life away over some Noxian trash?"

Darius stares down menacingly at Lux and talks over her before she could continue. "It would be wise of you to stop talking now little girl." Darius watches her eyes flash a bit with fear as they meet his stare but she holds her ground.

"You don't scare me." She says trying to look intimidating as well and failing.

"Why would Draven tell you about us? And why would you even believe him?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here!" Darius takes a step closer to her.

"Answer it." He says with a more demanding tone.

"I figured out him and Sona were soulmates." She says begrudgingly. "I was going to go to Swain to report it but he threatened to tell about you and Garen. He knows I wouldn't risk Garen or our family name."

"Draven doesn't have a soulmate. His wrist is blank." Darius says almost reactively.

Lux rolls her eyes. "Sona's a mute! Of course his wrist is blank you idiot."

"Lux look I know you're probably upset I didn't tell you about me and Darius but we can't help that we're soulmates." Garen says to her with a comforting tone.

"It doesn't matter! You shouldn't even be associating with him! You wouldn't be at risk right now if you just ignored him!" Lux protests, almost pouting a bit.

"Lux you're being childish! This is my choice not yours. Do not interfere with what I decide to do with my love life." Garen scolds. Lux looks slightly shocked at Garen's tone.

"You really want to risk your life just because some words on your wrist say he's your true love?"

"Yes I do." The two are locked in a staring contest for a moment before Lux finally breaks away.

"Fine. Just pick better places to make out please. You're going to get caught like this. And you!" Lux turns to Darius. "Tell your idiot brother to stop making it so obvious that him and Sona are a thing! If they get caught they might catch you two too, and I'll never forgive you if something bad happens to my brother." Lux threatens and then storms out of the garden.

Garen sighs once she's gone. "Sorry about that…"

"No it's like she said, it's my idiot brother's fault."

Garen chuckles lightly. "Siblings right?"

Darius finds himself smiling back. "Tell me about it."

The two end up heading back to the meeting room right before the meeting is supposed to pick back up again. They arrive and Darius takes his seat beside his brother. Draven was smirking at him and Darius resists the urge to hit him.

"How was your break?" Draven asks wiggling his eyebrows.

"We will talk later." Darius says sternly as Jarvan clears his throat and the meeting resumes.


End file.
